More than 800 jobs were at risk last night as administrators from Deloitte raced to find a buyer for one of Britain’s biggest suppliers of drinks to pubs, clubs and hotels.

The collapse of WaverleyTBS, formerly the wholesale division of the old Scottish & Newcastle brewing empire, is said by Deloitte to have sparked interest from several financial and trade suitors, thought to include the rival Matthew Clark group, jointly owned by Punch Taverns and Accolade Wines.

Analysts also tipped Ooberstock, a recently launched drinks distributor that runs an online ordering platform. Ooberstock, chaired by Colin Pedrick, the former head